Avoid panic. It’s natural to feel some exam nerves prior to starting the exam, but getting excessively nervous is counterproductive as you will not be able to think as clearly.

The quickest and most effective way of eliminating feelings of stress and panic is to close your eyes and take several long, slow deep breaths. Breathing in this way calms your whole nervous system. Simultaneously you could give yourself some mental pep-talk by mentally repeating “I am calm and relaxed” or “I know I will do fine”.

If your mind goes blank, don’t panic! Panicking will just make it harder to recall information. Instead, focus on slow, deep breathing for about one minute. If you still can’t remember the information then move on to another question and return to this question later.

After the exam don’t spend endless time criticizing yourself for where you think you went wrong. Often our own self assessment is far too harsh. Congratulate yourself for the things you did right, learn from the bits where you know you could have done better, and then move on.